In addition to his work as the frontman of Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tom Fec takes the BMSR synth-psych aesthetic into scuzzier directions under the auspices of his solo project Tobacco. But with his new album
Hot, Wet & Sassy, his first since 2016’s Sweatbox Dynasty (not counting last year’s Aesop Rock collab Malibu Ken), he says he’s taking things in a poppier direction.

“I feel like it’s the most I’ve been able to refine what I’m doing,” Fec explains in a statement. “For the past decade I’ve had this motherfxcker on my shoulder that makes me pick away at structure and melody. Purposely covering up moments because I can. That really came to a peak on Sweatbox. So I wanted the opposite this time. Write the songs without ripping them in half. I went from ‘what would the Butthole Surfers do?’ to ‘what would Cyndi Lauper do?’”

You probably wouldn’t mistake early singles like “Centaur Skin” or the Trent Reznor-featuring “Babysitter” for Cyndi Lauper, but they did highlight some of the more accessible elements of Tobacco’s synth-sludge sound. And his newest song, “Jinmenken,” is his melted, airy version of twinkly synth-pop ballad. “It’s me trying to write a Jets song,” he says. Listen below.

Hot, Wet & Sassy is out 10/30 on Ghostly. Pre-order it here.